5 Ways to Decorate a Neutral Living Room

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Perhaps the place we spend most of our time, the living room is super important to have put together since it is the center of your home. People like to decorate their living areas in various ways, but the more popular trend nowadays is going neutral. Having a neutral living room means using similar, neutral-toned colors like browns, grays, creams, beiges, etc. as the central theme of your space. While it may seem difficult to figure out how to decorate a space that is minimal in color and theme, it doesn’t have to be!

Do you have your own apartment or home? Does your living room have a neutral theme? Lost on how to properly decorate your space? Seeking fresh ideas? Worry not, these five tips will make your living room fun and fresh without taking away from the minimalist theme!

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1. Mix and Match: Having a natural color palette in the living room gives you the opportunity to experiment with fun colors, textures and patterns. Since the majority of the space has neutral colors and a neutral theme, adding pops of colors, textures or patterns can add a lively boost to your space and make it less monotone! Whether it’s adding polka dotted pillows on your sofa, a zebra-patterned rug, or an accent wall- mixing and matching helps to add freshness to your neutral space!

Laura Flanagan of The Spruce notes, “When decorating with a neutral color scheme, it’s really important to bring in a variety of patterns and textures. By offsetting rough with soft, shiny with matte and coarse with smooth, it’s possible to create depth and interest, making the room more dynamic.“

2. Incorporate Nice Architecture/Lighting: Part of what can make a room more interesting and appealing are nice pieces of architecture and eclectic lighting. For one thing, lighting itself can expand a space and make it seem larger and more welcoming.

In your neutral living room, try to incorporate as much natural lighting as you can, as not only will it make your space seem larger, but it will also highlight the neutral tones of the room! Additionally, bringing attention to architectural details, such as ceiling beams or crown molding can elevate your space and provide a nice visual contrast to the natural colors.

3. Have Fun with Mirrors: Generally speaking, I think a lot of us can be scared of decorating with mirrors because we don’t know how to. With mirrors, there are so many choices in terms of size, color, and style, that it can be overwhelming to pick one. Because of this, many people settle with just getting a plain, boring mirror that doesn’t necessarily fit their style or personality. Don’t lose sight of who you are while decorating your neutral living room! Adding a large, fun or funky mirror to your living area can make it seem bigger.

Brittney Smart of HomeEdit.com writes, “Mirrors add so much to any living room, but they are particularly useful in a neutral one. They reflect the light and therefore brighten and enlarge the space. The mirrors themselves read as a neutral and thus add depth to any neutral palette, whether it’s based upon browns, whites, creams, greys, or any other neutral shade.”

Image via Pexels

4. Accent the Details: Decorating any space ultimately comes down to the small details. Specifically, when decorating a natural area, details become even more important because these are the items that end up sticking out above everything else.

When it comes to decorating your neutral living room, remember to accent the details! Add fun things that pertain to you and your own style to give it some personality. Place some of your favorites books on a coffee table, lay a fluffy throw blanket on the sofa, add succulent plants or flowers on your windows- do anything to have fun and include a piece of you in your living room.

5. Make it Comfortable: At the end of the day, we want our spaces to be breathable, warm, and comfortable. As it is a space where we spend a lot of our time, a living room should always be a comfortable space to relax and enjoy time with family and friends. If your space has no personality or is muddled by neutral colors, it’s going to feel more like a space you want to avoid rather than to escape to.

To make your space warm and inviting, Lauren Flanagan suggests, “One is through the use of soft textures that feel nice to the touch. Think about using velvets, wools, chenilles and even microsuedes.”

When decorating any space, I think we all like to follow specific guidelines and stray away from deviating the “norm.” Having a neutral-themed living room means that you have free range to incorporate fun and style any way you please, whether it be in big ways like grandiose lighting or small ways like accent pillows. Remember to have fun and do what makes you comfortable. As always, good luck!

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